Ishant Sharma is happy to be returning to India, even if it’s a trifle earlier than he would have liked. The 20-year old has had his share of nightmares with the Knight Riders, but claims he has seen the light at the end of the tunnel. In an interview with The Indian Express, the lanky seamer talks about the lessons learnt from the IPL, the turning point in the Knight Riders’s campaign and his preparations for the T20 World Cup. Excerpts:

•What is the biggest lesson you have learnt?

• Honestly, the last one month has been very hard. Ever since I started playing cricket, this has been the toughest phase of my life. I have never been part of such a long losing streak, and being in a dressing room where there were so many controversies, was very taxing. But this experience has taught me the importance of being mentally tough and the value of staying focused when the ride is not smooth. After the spate of bitter defeats, it was good to taste success in the end.

•What sparked the change of fortunes at the end?

• Everyone was hurt about losing because we were all trying to win. Perhaps we were trying too hard to break the run. The loss against Deccan Chargers and the sequence of events that led to it really hurt us because we were so close to a win. We might not have won that game, but that was a sort of turning point for the team. We realised how desperate we all were and that helped us come together and win the last two matches. I wish the trigger had come earlier in the tournament because our team were capable of reaching the semi-finals.

... contd.